Abstract:

Dictionaries have been important tools for education through centuries, providing necessary concise information. New technologies made an access to dictionaries and information even easier. As Anatole France put it “Dictionary is a universe in alphabetical order”. Various types of dictionaries thematic, specialized, monolingual, bilingual, etc. provide a wide scope of information - grammatical, phonetic, historical, etymological, cultural etc.

They are effective means of learning foreign languages in autonomous mode. To use dictionaries students have to develop dictionary skills. When people think of dictionary they think first of all of words, but modern dictionaries provide systems of exercises to develop reading, speaking and listening skills. Besides they are instrumental in preparing for international exams like PET, FCE, CAE (advanced), CPE (proficiency) and others. What is important for student’s autonomous studies, tasks provided in dictionaries have key answers and could be self- checked. Using dictionaries for LSP will introduce students to terminological dictionaries and data-base. The autonomous learning has to be instructed and monitored by a teacher to make these studies more effective, the aims have to be set and achieved results reported.

The autonomous studies with dictionaries could be switched at some stages to collaborative learning by assigning students some project works.

Students can profit from various dictionaries in achieving different learning aims. They are effective tools and could be used to complement any course, to diversify learning and bring new perspectives into teaching.

Keywords:

On-line dictionaries, dictionary types, dictionary skills, tasks, autonomous learning.